Memory Loss- Pokémon Mystery Dungeon Writing Project
by ElvistheTyphlosion
Summary: A personal project I started to get better at writing. Will probably go on for a while.
1. Chapter 1

Ioan woke up. Even with his eyes not open yet, he could feel that something was wrong. Wind? The mild stab of dry grass? He cautiously opened his eyes. He saw trees, a blue sky, some clouds- not the bedroom he had been expecting. A wave of fear washed over him. He suddenly felt a knocking pain in his head, an enormous, splitting headache, as though he had sustained some devastating head injury.

"uuaghhh..." he groaned, feeling similar pains throughout his body.

He looked down, to see if he had been seriously injured. He certainly felt as though he had.

"WHAT THE HELL?!" He screamed. His body was no longer the body he thought he remembered. He had been replaced by some yellow, furred creature. Even the voice he had just heard sounded wrong.

His head flopped back down, and he groaned again, as his neck felt like it was being twisted in every direction at once. "Oaghhhhahh..."

He heard some footsteps behind him, and a faint voice calling. "Hello? Who's there?" And he blacked out.

Some time passed. Ioan felt himself waking up again. The splitting headache. The mild stab of the grass. The light wind.

He took in a deep breath. His lungs felt as though they were filled with asbestos. He opened his eyes.

The blue figure of a Gabite was staring intently at him.

"Are you OK?"

Ioan's eyes widened in terror. He had understood him.

"I..."

He stuttered and sputtered a bit and closed his mouth again. He had no clue what to say.

"Hello? Can you hear me? Do you need help?"

Ioan's jaw quivered. He was terrified. He could understand this Gabite.

"I don't… I don't… I… I don't know."

The Gabite scratched his head. He started rummaging through a leather satchel that was hanging on a frayed rope at his side, and after a few moments of searching he produced a wooden canteen with a stopper in it, holding it with a wooden ring which was carved near the top.

"Do you need some water?"

"Yeah… yeah… that would help."

Every word felt like a chore to say. Ioan tried to sit up, but he felt his spine clicking and clacking in several places and collapsed back onto the floor. He grunted at the pain.

"Awgh!"

"Whoa whoa! I don't think you're OK, not at all! What happened to you?"

"I..."

Ioan stopped. He had no idea. Coming to think of it, trying to recall anything was difficult. Ioan strained his mind, trying to remember anything. But he couldn't remember a thing. Well, nothing except for a bedroom. But even that memory was foggy- he couldn't remember any of the details of the room.

"I'm not sure."

"Wow, you must really be hurt… I'll help you get back to town, maybe Godwin can figure out what's wrong with you."

The gabite walked closer, put the canteen on the floor, and offered a claw to Ioan to help him up. He reached for the claw, tried to grab it, and missed. He tried again, and just about managed to grab the extended claw. He tried to pull himself up, and felt the Gabite trying to pull him as well. He just barely got onto his feet. He stumbled around for a second, before tripping over nothing and collapsing onto his front. He let out a pained noise.

"Awwwugh!"

The gabite seemed to recoil a bit.

"Give me a second. I have an idea."

The gabite disappeared from view into the trees, returning a few seconds later with a branch, hooked over his left claw.

"Try balancing yourself with this. It might help."

Again, he offered a claw to Ioan, this time putting it closer. He grabbed it and felt himself being pulled up from the floor. As soon as he was up, he saw the Gabite shoving the branch in front of him. He reached out to grab it as he felt himself falling over again, and just barely managed to use it to stabilise himself. He felt the branch flex slightly under his weight and was afraid that it was going to snap, but fortunately the branch held his weight.

"…. Oookay. I… I'm up. I'm standing."

"Good! Do you want some water now?"

He looked over and saw that the Gabite was offering him the canteen. He took it, removed the stopper, and swallowed a mouthful of it. It cooled his mouth and soothed the asbestos-like feeling in his throat. His head hurt slightly less. He closed his eyes for a second, and tried to recall any details, any memories, anything at all. As though a light had been turned on, he suddenly recalled one thing- his name. Or at least, his first name.

"Ioan." he thought out loud.

"What?" The Gabite looked at him in confusion. "Ioan? What's that?"

"I think it's my name."

"Your name? Well, it's nice to meet you, Ioan… My name's Dell."

Dell smiled at Ioan. Ioan replaced the stopper in the canteen and handed it back. Unfortunately, his poor coordination resulted in him dropping the canteen. The stopper popped back out and the water spilled, soaking into the ground.

Ioan raised one hand to his head. "Oh, I- I'm so sorry, Dell!"

Dell raised his claws in front of himself. "No, no, don't worry! It's not your fault, you're clearly not alright at the moment."

Ioan sighed, slightly relieved. "Okay. How do we get to the town?"

Dell looked up at Ioan from where he was picking up the canteen. "It's west of here. That direction." Dell pointed into the trees. "It's mostly flat. Should be a fairly easy walk, even for you." Dell put the canteen back into his satchel. "If you want, I'll support your other arm for the walk back, just, y'know, to make it a little easier for you."

Ioan gently shook his head. "No, thanks, I can make this. I'm tough enough, I'll soldier through it..."

Dell nodded. "Well, we'd best set off. The sooner you see Godwin the better, I think."

The pair slowly set off in the direction Dell had been pointing. The route was quite pretty, really- luscious green shrubbery all around, and thick trees casting shade over the pathway, with the occasional beam of sunlight filtering through onto the route. They talked as they walked.

"So, Ioan, do you remember where you come from? I can't say I remember seeing a Typhlosion around town recently."

"No, no. I don't remember. All I know is that my name is Ioan."

"I'm sure someone in town will recognise you."

"Maybe… I just don't remember a thing. No names, well, apart from my own, no faces… nothing."

"I'm sure Godwin will be able to clear that up. He can do all sorts of stuff. He's crazy smart."

"So, do you often come into these woods? Or was it just luck that you happened to find me?"

"Well, a bit of both. I do often go for walks in the woods, just, you know, for exercise and stuff, but normally I go a different route. I just heard that there were some ripe Cheri berries on this side of the woods today. I didn't end up finding them, but I did find you."

"Well, that's certainly… lucky, I suppose."

They continued to talk about things as they walked, Dell trying to get Ioan to remember any tiny little details. They walked for what could only have been three-quarters of an hour tops but felt like hours to Ioan's aching bones. Eventually, a small village came into view on the edge of the woods. A few little huts here and there, smoke rising from stone chimney stacks on top of one or two of them. There was a short stone cliff face at one side of the village.

"Here we are!" said Dell. "Carcano. Beautiful little town." He raised a claw and pointed at the cliff face. "Godwin's is carved into the cliff face."

Ioan winced a bit as he took another step. "Great. Let's get there."

They set off again. A few minutes later, they were walking through the centre of the village. Ioan felt a few odd looks being shot at him from the various Pokémon who were in the square.

"Dell," he whispered. "They're all looking at me funny."

"A typhlosion is kind of a rare sight around these parts." Dell whispered back. "You originate in the desert area about 1500 miles south. That's where I come from too. But I came here a few years ago. I heard it was really beautiful, and I've always wanted to travel and see the sights. I've heard of all kinds of amazing things, and I've always dreamed of seeing them, ever since I was a Gible."

"Wow. That does sound incredible."

By now they were approaching the cliff face. A wooden door was affixed to it.

"That's Godwin's." said Dell. "He'll know what's up with you. He's smart."

Dell knocked on the door. They heard a voice shout from inside. "Come in! Come in!"

Dell used the ring on the door to pull it open. Dell walked in and Ioan limped in behind him. They walked into a cluttered stone room, which was well-lit with some candles in glass lamps. There wasn't anyone visible, but from behind the wooden counter on the other side of the room they could hear banging and clattering. The yellow, moustached figure of a Kadabra popped up from behind the counter. He was holding a box of herbs of various colours, and had a spoon in his mouth. He put the box down on the counter and grabbed the spoon out of his mouth.

"Ahh, Dell! How have you been, my friend? I got in an etching of that Dark Sea you wanted to see! Makes a fine display piece, in my opinion at least..."

"That's great, Godwin, and I've been well, but I need some medical help from you at the moment."

"Medical help? What've you done now?"

"It's not me, Godwin. It's this fella here. Found him on the other side of the wood. He doesn't remember anything and he's having trouble walking, standing, doing anything really."

Godwin twirled his moustache. "Bring him over here." Godwin reached under the counter and pulled out a rough wooden chair. "Come, come. Sit here."

Dell walked over, leading Ioan through the maze of stacked up boxes and trinkets all over the room. Ioan reached the chair and slowly lowered himself onto it. Godwin walked in front of him, spinning the spoon in between his fingers.

"O-kay. Let me start by asking a few questions. What's your name?"

"Ioan. I think."

"Well, it's a start. Where do you come from, Ioan?"

Ioan considered this. He had no idea. He just could not think of it.

"I don't know."

Godwin furrowed his brow. "Well, that's a serious problem. Are you feeling pain anywhere?"

"Yes, everywhere."

"Is it more painful in one place?"

"Yes, my head."

"Your head?"

"Yeah."

Godwin walked behind Ioan, and he felt a hand and a piece of cold, rounded metal tapping on the back of his head. Then, he felt a stab of extreme pain in the back of his head.

He lurched forward instinctually to get away from the pain.

"OUCH! What the hell was that?!"

"Well." said Godwin. "I found the problem." He walked back in front of Ioan, holding the spoon. There was a dark, crimson goo on it.

"You have some kind of cut on the back of your head. Looks like it's healing nicely, but… that may explain a few things. Head injury, which may well have damaged your brain, you may be suffering from some kind of memory loss?"

Dell looked up from the colourful stones he was admiring and said, "I've heard of stuff like that! Isn't that what happened to Roy after he had that fight?"

Godwin nodded, and wiped the blood off his spoon with a rag from the counter. "Well, yes, but that was less serious than this. Ioan, you're suffering from memory loss."

Ioan just sat there. Processing that. It certainly explained a lot. He had no idea where he came from, who he was, or even what he was. Just that his body somehow felt as though it was a stranger.

"Maybe I could help a little… Hold still, and look me in the eyes."

Ioan looked straight ahead into Godwin's eyes. Godwin lifted his spoon up in between his eyes, and flicked it with his other hand. A deep, ringing tone echoed from it. The room went fuzzy, and suddenly Ioan was back in the forest. In the clearing. But this time, he was sat in a chair. He noticed that Godwin was there this time. And… another of himself, laying on the floor.

"Hmm, no. This is too recent." said Godwin. "We'll try to go back a little further." The ringing tone again, and suddenly Ioan and Godwin were in a grey, featureless room. There was a bed in one corner.

And a figure lay in the bed. But not really a discernable figure, it was almost as though it was a shadow of a figure. No longer real, no longer there.

"Well, I think this may be where you came from… but where this is? Doesn't look like anywhere in Carcano. Let's see… can we go back any further?"

The deep ringing again, and suddenly, darkness. There was nothing.

"Well, that is a problem." said Godwin, twirling his moustache again.

"What does it mean?"

"Well, it's almost as though you haven't just forgotten, your memories have actually been wiped out! I've never seen anything like it. But I think that's about as much as I can do about this. Let's pull you out."

A ringing again, this time more high pitched. The darkness around suddenly started to form itself into shapes, soon retaking the form of Godwin's shop. Ioan came out and inhaled sharply, as though he had just been drowning.

"What was that?!"

"I read your brain. Nothing special." Godwin took the spoon away from in front of him and stood up straight.

"Well, Ioan, I hope I answered your questions. To be honest with you there isn't a whole lot you can do about the memory loss. At least, not that I know of. For the pain though… Give me a minute, I'll see what I can do for you."

Godwin disappeared into a room behind the counter. Dell and Ioan could hear crashing and banging coming from inside the room.

A minute or two later, Godwin emerged with a bright red shoot of some rubbery, nautical-looking plant.

"Eat this. 900Pcoin to anyone else, but I owe Dell here a favour, so if he doesn't mind, he can use that favour and it's free."

"No no, of course I don't mind! I just want to help."

"Well, that's all fine then." Godwin walked over to Ioan and handed him the shoot. Ioan took it and put it in his mouth, starting to chew it. It was tough and salty. An extremely unpleasant piece of food. Ioan grimaced a little t the flavour, but after a minute of chewing, he was able to swallow the shoot.

Immediately he started to feel better. Not great, but an improvement.

Godwin twirled his spoon. "So, how are you feeling?"

"Better. Not great, still… but better."

"Good, good. The whitedamp weed is working. Give it a day, you'll be good as new. Except for the, y'know, memory loss. This stuff only helps with aches and pains. Basic stuff. Bruises, cuts, the like. Before you leave, I probably ought to clean that cut."

Godwin disappeared into the room again and came out with two pieces of cloth and a small glass bottle of some clear liquid. He placed them on the counter and reached under the counter, producing a wooden bottle.

"Hold still, and lean forward."

Ioan leaned his head forward. He heard the glug of some water behind him, and felt a sting of pain as something touched the cut. He winced, but tried his hardest not to move.

"Good, good. This is going to hurt a bit more..."

The feeling stopped, and a few seconds later, it was back, as though someone had stabbed him in the neck. He moved forwards a little, and bit his lip.

"It's watered down Arbok venom. It hurts, but it's a damn good steriliser." Godwin explained.

A moment of the stabbing pain later, and Ioan felt the cloth being removed. "Well, would you look at that. I think I know what you did yo your head." Ioan saw the bloodied piece of cloth being extended in front of him. "Do you see that, Ioan?" "No, I don't, what am I looking for?" "There are some splinters of wood, moss and the like in the blood. You hit a tree, and you hit it _hard._"

Ioan thought. Did he remember hitting a tree? No… as far back as he could remember was the bedroom, and even then, after that he remembered nothing until waking up in the clearing.

"Anything else you can do, Godwin?" came Dell's voice from the right of Ioan. "I'm going to bandage it. But other than that, no. It should heal naturally over time." Godwin produced a roll of brown cloth from behind the counter, and slowly started to wrap it around Ioan's head, using his left ear to hold it on. A few moments of careful wrapping later, and Godwin tied a knot at the bottom, and waved a hand at the rest of the roll, slicing it off, and replacing it under the counter.

Dell moved the stones he had been carefully inspecting back to the side.

"Well, Ioan, what are you going to do now?" he asked.

"Hum. I hadn't really thought about that. Try and find out who I am, I suppose. Where I come from."

Godwin tapped his spoon on the counter, and the boxes flew off the top and underneath the wooden surface. "If you two are up for a little travelling, you should probably visit Dewi's Crater. There's a relatively large colony of Typhlosions living around the edge of the crater. It's some 360 miles east of town. A few days' travel. Someone might recognise you."

"Good idea!" exclaimed Dell. "But we'll leave in a few days. Not really in any shape for travel right now."

Godwin smiled at Ioan, and then at Dell. "Well, I suppose you don't need my help anymore, eh? I'll be seeing you, Dell. You too, Ioan. Take care now, the two of you."

They both walked to the door, Ioan carrying his branch but relying on it less and less. They turned to wave at Godwin as they left. Godwin returned the wave and went back to sorting through the piles of bits and pieces behind the counter.

Once outside, Dell turned to Ioan. "We could go back into town a little, and introduce you to the locals, see if anyone recognises you?"

Ioan stood, tapping his branch a little as he thought. "That sounds like a good idea. Who knows, someone might even know where I come from."

So they set back off, and three minutes later they were stood on the edge of the town square. A few merchants had various things spread out on cloths and things, shouting over one another, trying to sell their things to the locals. The locals spoke among each other all over the squre. A furret lay across a bench, napping in the warm afternoon sun.

Ioan and Dell walked around a few various groups in the square, and Dell asked a few people if they recognised Ioan.

"Hmm, no, sorry." "Never seen him before in my life." "I've never even seen a Typhlosion before, let alone this guy."

No one recognised him, and Ioan was starting to lose hope. But Dell was still optimistic.

Then, they asked a Bayleef who had been sitting at a table outside a café, drinking a cup of tea through a hollowed stick.

"Hmm… Looking at you, yeah. Maybe I do recognise you. I was walking in the forest yesterday evening, just appreciating the night life… watching the Combee nest for the night, looking at all the plants and things, when I heard someone nearby. I thought that was unusual, as it was fairly late and even during the daytime you barely see anyone in that forest. I went over in the direction of the sound to investigate, and I saw the unmistakeable blue back and red circles of a Typhlosion. But, if that was you, you sure looked disoriented. I know my plants, and there are some nasty ones in that forest." the Bayleef seemed to shudder at the thought of some of them. "Some are even deadly. I thought that you, or whoever that was, might have eaten something funny."

Ioan thought about that for a minute. "So if you know there are dangerous plants, why didn't you try to help?"

The Bayleef looked slightly offended by that. "Well, if you thought some big, strange Poké you saw in the woods was going to get violent, I hardly think _you _would want to take that risk."

Dell tipped his head to the side a little and shrugged. "It's a fair cop. I wouldn't want to get injured either. I can see the reasoning."

"I guess… but… I… Fine. I guess. Thanks anyway, miss." Ioan nodded at the Bayleef, and she gave him a small smile before returning to her drink.

As they turned to walk away, Ioan kicked the ground in mild anger at not really being any closer to his identity. No one knew who he was. All he had to go on was a name, and a head injury.

It was starting to get dark. The merchants had packed away their wares. The village was a lot less active, the flickering light of small flames visible in some of the huts.

"Dell, is there an, uhm, inn or something I can stay the night at here?"

"Hm? Oh, uh, yeah, there is. But… I was thinking you could stay with me?"

"Oh, really? I… that's really nice of you, but I wouldn't want to get in your way any more than I already have."

"It's fine, really! Besides… I doubt they would let you stay the night. You don't have any money, do you? Or, uh, actually, I'm not that familiar with your species. Do you have some hidden pouch or pocket or something?"

"Oh, shite, yeah! Money! I hadn't even thought about it. Bugger. Yeah, do you mind if I stay with you?"

"Nah, of course not! I live just over there." Dell pointed a claw towards the forest. "Come on. Let's go. We can come back here tomorrow, maybe speak to Intelleon about getting to Dewi's Crater."

Ioan nodded and they set off.

"So who's Intelleon?"

"He's the guy who runs the local traveller's stop. Has a bit of everything you'd need to, well, travel. Maps, bottles, rope… the works."

"I don't have any money."

"I know! I'll pay."

"Dell, I don't want to take your money."

"It's, uh..." Dell scratched his head. "It's for me really."

"What?"

"I wanted to travel, and I have the opportunity. It's presented itself and I'm taking it."

Ioan looked at Dell and considered that.

"Couldn't you always have travelled?"

Dell gave Ioan a mildly shocked look. "Travelling _alone? _Are you mad?"

"What's so bad about travelling alone?"

"What's so d-It's dangerous out there, dude! You could get hurt, or lost, or robbed, or… It's just not safe!"

"Wow. I had no idea. Wait, if it's dangerous, how'd you get here?"

"I travelled with a group of Rayqazic worshippers on some pilgrimage."

"If you wanted to travel, why didn't you stay with them?"

"They kept trying to convert me. Started getting on my nerves. Eventually we stopped in Carcano, and… I thought another group would be along soon! But… the only ones that came didn't want me to go with them. So I stayed here. Eventually built myself a hut. Speaking of which…"

They arrived in front of a small, round wooden hut with a thatched roof. It was quite rudimentary, with some gaps visible between boards, the door hanging at a slight angle. But it looked as though it was still a fine place to live. Dell hooked the ring on the door with his claw and pulled it open. It creaked softly as it opened. They walked inside. It was dark. Ioan could just make out shapes around the room- a squat wooden table, some shelves… various other pieces of furniture. In the very middle of the room was a medium sized fire pit. Dell walked over to a wooden box on one side of the room and got out a few pieces of wood and a little bit of straw. He hugged them against himself so as to not drop them before depositing them in the fire pit and turning to Ioan.

"Could you give me a hand getting this fire going?"

"Sure. Uhm, what do you want me to do?"

"What do you mean? You're a Fire-type!"

Ioan looked at Dell in confusion. "That doesn't help."

Dell stared at Ioan, now also confused. "Do you not even remember how to use your powers?"

"What powers?"

"Wow. That's… almost unbelievable! I thought it was just, a, a base instinct! I've known how to use mine as far as I can remember!"

"Use your WHAT?! None of this is helping!" Ioan felt an inexplicable heat building up around his neck.

"I don't really know how to explain it. Just… you know, your power!"

"I… don't… know… what… that… IS!" As Ioan shouted the last word of his sentence, the heat on his neck seemed to reach some sort of peak. Ioan felt an almost burn-like sensation on his back, and a warmth radiating up his head. Flames erupted from the back of his neck, circling around the front of his neck and curling upwards towards the roof. The flames died down to an ember and faded as quickly as they had appeared.

"HOLY F-WHAT _WAS_ THAT?!"

Dell pointed excitedly.

"That was it! One of your powers! You did it!"

"I didn't do that! It just… happened!"

"But you just did it!"

"If I did, then I don't know _how _I did!"

Dell considered this for a second.

"Have you really forgotten that?"

"I must have! I have no idea what you're talking about!"

Dell raised one of his eyelids. "That is very, very strange. I don't know what to say."

Ioan clapped. "That's it. That settles it. I HAVE to get to that Dewi's Crater place. They're sure to know what to do."

Dell shrugged. "Probably. Anyway, I'll get the fire going."

Dell walked over to the shelf and came back with a piece of scratched, jet-black stone, held precariously between his claws. He placed it next to the fire pit, and struck it with one of his claws, causing some white sparks to fly into the dry wood and straw which was in the pit. The straw started to smoulder and soon there was a lively fire burning in the pit, illuminating the room. Ioan could see everything clearly now. There were all kinds of little bits and bobs adorning the shelves, and a map was spread carelessly across the squat table on one side of the room.

"Well, this is my place. I think I've got some spare bedding somewhere…" Dell trailed off and started searching through a box next to a neatly folded piece of cloth on the floor.

While he searched, Ioan took the opportunity to look at some of the little things decorating the shelves. A small, painted, wooden statue of some threatening, red figure, almost ramp-shaped. A worn leather-bound book. A set of wooden bowls and cups, all with small handles for a claw to go through.

"Here we are!" Dell pulled a few slightly tatty cloths out of the box. "They're a bit old and worn, but they're fine. You can sleep anywhere really. Doesn't bother me."

"Thanks." Ioan walked over and took the cloths. He looked around the room, and decided to put the cloths at his feet, to sleep there.

The flames danced in the pit in the middle of the room. Ioan felt his eyes getting heavier as he grew tired. He yawned.

"Dell, mate, I am shattered. I'm going to sleep now, if that's alright."

Dell nodded. "Yeah, that's fine. I'm going to go to bed soon too."

Ioan lay down on one of the cloths, and pulled the other over himself. He found himself drifting off to sleep very quickly, as he felt the warmth of the fire behind him.

He slept extremely well- it had been a long day.

Ioan woke up the next morning feeling refreshed. He had a slight headache, but other than that he felt much better than he had yesterday. He stretched a bit, and looked around the room. The fire was out- just a little trail of smoke now. There was daylight shining through the window cut into the wall. He could hear the slight buzz of distant noise in the town. Looking around the room a little, he saw Dell sleeping, messily lying half under his bedding and half out. He then saw Dell stretch, and his eyes slowly rolling open.

Dell then stood up and stretched a little more, before walking over to a shelf on the other side of the room and looking over some of the items on it. The shelf, from what Ioan could see from the floor, held food, rather than decorations. Dell stabbed a pear-shaped berry with one of his claws and started sleepily gnawing at it as he woke up. He turned around and saw that Ioan was awake.

"Oh, morning. Didn't realise you were awake. You want anything to eat?"

Ioan thought for a second. He did feel hungry, actually. In fact, he couldn't remember eating anything since that plant in Godwin's shop yesterday.

"Yeah, good morning. Yes, please, I'd love something to eat."

"I have some berries and stuff on this shelf here, just help yourself. I'm going to do a bit of tidying. We'll go see Intelleon later."

Ioan grabbed his stick and pushed himself up. He yawned and rubbed his eyes. He walked over to the shelf to look at the food. There were various things on the shelf. An apple, some small green berries… He settled on a orange, pointy berry with a green stem. It was sweet, and Ioan felt good now that he had eaten. He turned around and saw Dell putting his neatly folded pile of cloth down where he had slept. The cloth Ioan had slept under was still laying in an unruly pile on the floor. He walked over, and picked them up, and started to fold them into a square. After a moment had passed, they were folded, and placed on the floor.

"Ioan, maybe you should take those bandages off. They're looking nasty."

"Good idea, let me just..." Ioan reached up to where the bandages were wrapped around his head, and pulled them off. He held them in front of him. There was a mid-sized red stain on them, and some thick, dark blue fibres. They were slightly singed at the bottom.

"Where do you want me to put them?"

"Stick 'em in the pit. I'll burn them later."

Ioan shrugged and threw the bandages into the ashes in the pit.

"Right. Well, we should go to Intelleon's now. Get whatever supplies we'll need to get to the Crater. We'll go tomorrow morning." Dell said, picking up his bag from the table and putting it over his shoulder.

They left the house, Dell closing the door behind them, and Ioan followed Dell as they walked across town. As they walked, Ioan asked some questions about the town.

"So, who built all these huts?"

"Mostly the people who live in them. Some of them were built by Feraligatr & Sons."

"Feraligatr & Sons?"

"Local contracting group. They do all sorts of stuff. Give them the money, they do what you need."

"Huh. Who founded this town?"

Dell shrugged. "Not a clue. I think the oldest building in town is the Arceusite church on the cliff, but… it's barely used these days. So it might have been started by the Scriptor of the Church at some point."

They continued to walk across town, as Ioan talked to Dell. A few minutes later, they arrived outside a fairly large, two-floor building, which seemed to be well constructed. A sign hung above the door, painted a deep purple, which read "Intelleon's Traveller Stop- Supplies, Directions & Rest"

"This is it, Ioan. Intelleon's." Dell pushed the door open and walked inside. Ioan followed closely. Once inside, they could hear the noise of conversations occuring around the room. They saw a few groups of travellers. Some looking at things on shelves on one side of the room, some sat at tables eating, drinking and reading maps on the other. Behind a counter on the other side of the room was a tall, skinny Intelleon. He waved and gave a smile as they walked in.

"Dell! How are you?" came a shout from the Intelleon. Dell walked up to the desk, and they shook hands. "Very good, Int. How about you?" "I'm doing fantastic, thank you for asking!" He gestured around the room behind them. "As you can see, business is booming! I even brought in some new medicinal herbs from Godwin not long ago." He pointed at some shelves lined with all different colours and shapes of plants and berries. "Nice! Anyway, Int, allow me to introduce my friend Ioan." Ioan extended a hand to Intelleon. "Hey." Intelleon grabbed the hand with both of his own, and smiled widely while shaking it intensely. "Very pleased to meet you! Any friend of Dell's is a friend of mine!" After a moment he let Ioan's hand go, and put his own on the counter. "So, Dell! What can I do for you?"

"Well, Int," said Dell. He pointed at Ioan. "This guy lost his memories."

Intelleon scratched his chin. "I think Godwin would be more useful than me for that."

"We've been to Godwin already. What we need now is to get to Dewi's Crater."

"Aaaah! Makes sense, I suppose. You'll need… oh, maybe four days of food? Five at most. Each, that is. And, ah, a bag, for you." He pointed at Ioan. "Just go look at the stuff upstairs. All kinds of gear up there. Need a hand, give me a shout."

Dell nodded, and walked around the counter and up the stairs, Ioan following him. They walked up a short flight of stairs and into a room filled with shelves, all covered in clothing, equipment, tools and the like. Anything a traveller might need.

They picked over some bags that were sat on one of the shelves. Eventually, Ioan settled on a brown, leathery bag very similar to Dell's, but slightly bigger and darker-coloured. They looked over some of the other things on some of the shelves, like hammers, tents and things. Ioan also ended up grabbing a crudely-made iron canteen. They walked back down the stairs, and put the bag and canteen on the counter. Intelleon looked at them, and wrote something in a notebook under the top of the counter.

"2300 Pcoin, Dell."

Dell reached into his own bag and pulled out a cloth bag, putting it on the counter and opening it. He pulled out 23 coins, each marked 100, using his claw to slide them out of the bag. Once they were out and carefully counted, he said, "How much is each set of rations?"

"10 Pcoin for a day's worth. For one person."

Dell slid out another 100.

"We'll take 10 days of standard food."

Intelleon nodded, and slid all the coins into his hand, before putting them in a wooden box under the counter. "Just go take what you need. Then we can discuss your route."

Dell nodded, and he and Ioan walked over to the shelf covered in wrapped, brown paper packages. Ioan grabbed five, and put them into his new bag, then another five, and put those into Dell's bag.

After taking the food, they walked back over to the counter. "So, your route." said Intelleon. He had a rolled-up map sat on the counter. He started to unroll it. "I know the two of you can probably handle sleeping outdoors, so it's quicker-" he made a line with his finger across the map. "-to go directly across, instead of going outpost to outpost. Directly across the Powys Plains here, through the Glyndwr Rocks. Then you can go straight across Llywelyn's Desert. Dewi's Crater is in the middle of the desert."

Dell reached into his bag, pulling out a notebook and a small bottle of black ink. He opened the notebook on the counter, opened the ink and dipped the tip of his claw into the ink. He started to draw a poor reproduction of the route they would need to take, but taking extra care to make sure he had noted all the landmarks. After a few more minutes of discussing it, they had all they needed. Dell closed the ink and his notebook, putting them back into his bag.

"Thanks, Int. We'll be off now."

"Not a problem, Dell! Safe travels. You too, Ioan."

They walked out of the door. It was already mid afternoon- they had been in Intelleon's for longer than they realised.

"We should go and get water. Fill up our canteens. There's a pump in the square we can use." said Dell.

"Okay, good idea."

They walked the short distance to the town square. It was a similar scene to the day before- a different assortment of travelling merchants selling all manner of goods, little groups of Pokémon chatting to one another… it seemed as though this was all fairly routine here. There was a small, wooden pipe on one side of the square, with a Scizor and a Granbull talking to one another while filling a bucket from it. Ioan and Dell went over and waited for them to be done. After a moment, they moved on, and Ioan and Dell were free to fill their canteens from the pipe, which had a constant stream of water coming from it.

"Where does this water come from?" said Ioan, pointing at the pipe.

"You know, I'm not sure!" Dell shrugged. "Probably better off asking Tropius, he is the one who built it after all."

"Fair enough."

After a minute or two, their canteens were full.

"So, what now?" said Ioan, sliding his canteen into his new bag.

"Well… can you think of anything we might need for the trip? We'll leave tomorrow morning."

Ioan thought. He scratched at his chin. A few fibres of fur came off. He held them in front of his eyes, before dropping them. He couldn't think of anything.

"Nah, not that I can think of. Uhh… maybe… cooking stuff?"

"We don't need that, we have berries."

"Oh. Well… then no, I got nothing."

"Alright then! We may as well go back to my hut, just go over the route a couple times… make sure we can't get lost."

"Sounds like a plan."

By the time they arrived back at Dell's, the sun was starting to set. They had managed to spend the whole day getting ready. They walked inside, and Dell went through his usual routine of starting the fire. Then, Dell walked over to the short table with a map on it and knelt in front of it. Ioan walked over and knelt next to him.

"So..." said Dell, pointing a claw at a spot on the map. "Here's Carcano..." Dell lightly dragged his claw across the map. "… and here's the Crater."

Ioan nodded. "So we can pretty much go straight there?"

"Yeah, we just have to take a little detour to avoid-" Dell pointed his claw at some mountains drawn on the map- "the Brecon Mountain Ranges, so we'll go through the Glyndwr Rocks here. Int got it all figured out. I'm sure we'll remember. So..." Dell stood up. "I think we're ready!" Dell looked out the window. The sun had set. It was dark.

"So, when are we leaving tomorrow? Like, what time?"

"Well, as soon as we get up, I suppose." Dell scratched his forehead. "No point waiting about."

"Okay, and where are we going to sleep while we're travelling?"

"Outside. It'll be fine."

"Right."

"Well, I suppose we ought to go to bed! Wouldn't want to be tired for the journey."

"You make a point."

Dell walked over to his sheets, and spread them out, before lying down on them, folding his arms behind his head. Ioan followed suit with his own blankets, however he crossed his arms across his chest, rather than behind his head.

He drifted off to sleep quite slowly, hearing a light snore coming from Dell, and an occasional crackle and pop coming from the dry wood in the firepit.

He woke up early in the morning. Dell was already awake, eating a bright red berry.

"Morning, Ioan." said Dell, noticing that Ioan's eyes were open.

Ioan yawned. "Mmmh. Y…. you alright? How'd you sleep, Dell?"

"Good. You?"

"Fine." Ioan was getting up.

"Oh!" Dell exclaimed. "Remember to pack your sheets. We'll need them."

"Okay. Mind if I have some breakfast?"

"No, of course not. Help yourself. There isn't much left, I didn't bother buying food yesterday because we'll be gone for a while. Like, normal food."

"Fair." Ioan walked over to the shelf. There were only two things left on it; an apple, and three small, purple berries. Ioan took the apple and berries, and ate them. Once he had finished the apple, he threw the core into the firepit. He felt a tickle in his throat, and after a moment he coughed hard into his hand. A spout of flames came out of his mouth, into his fist as he held it in front of his hand. He recoiled from it and shook his hand in the air, in case it was on fire.

"AAAH! WHAT WAS THAT?"

Dell turned around, missing the flames, but seeing Ioan waving his hand about.

"What?! What happened!?"

Ioan looked at Dell, feeling panic. "I coughed, and fire came out!"

Dell ran a claw down the side of his face, and smiled a little. "Oh, thank Arceus. I thought it was something to worry about. That's one of those powers."

Ioan stared at his hand, still feeling some concern. "Oh. How come I didn't catch fire?"

"I dunno."

"Oh. Well, maybe someone at the Crater will know. Let's go."

"Right! Yes, of course. Grab your sheets, put them in your bag. We'll get off."

A minute or two of hasty packing later, and everything was ready. They stepped out of the door of Dell's hut, and Dell looked up at the sun, shading his eyes with the fin on one of his arms. "It's about… hm… Nine? I think? I was never the best at this."

"Let's go, I guess. Which way is it?"

Dell pointed to the trees on one side of the town. "Straight that way. Let's go."

The pair set off, walking into the woods. They chatted about various things as they walked, Dell even showing Ioan what some of his powers were, so that Ioan would have a better understanding of the type of thing the Dell meant by power. After about five minutes of walking, Carcano had disappeared behind the trees. The path they were walking on started to appear a little more unkempt- weeds were growing on the sides, the trees were a little thicker, the ambient noise of the forest grew slightly louder.

As they walked, they talked. "So… Ioan, what are you going to do if you find out who you are?"

"Hmm." Ioan looked at Dell. He looked at the trees, the forest. The world around him. It somehow all seemed so alien, yet it was all he knew. "Well… I hadn't really thought about it. I guess… I thought I would find out and go from there."

Dell shrugged. "Fair. I mean, it's not every day you forget yourself. Or, uh, your entire self, I mean."

"Heh. Yeah, I guess not."

They continued to talk as they walked- Ioan learning more and more about the world. Eventually, the forest began to thin again, and a mighty mountain range became visible over the trees. The day had turned to late afternoon by now.

"And that's why I never eat Coba berries." said Dell.

"Huh. Hey, about where are we now?" Ioan was looking up at the mountains, some snow visible near the peaks of the taller ones.

Dell looked up at the mountains. "Those are the Brecons!" He smiled widely. "Well, the beginning of the range, at least. They're just… beautiful, ain't they?"

Ioan was stunned by the beauty of the mountains ahead, but at the same time he felt a little concernced.

"They certainly are… but they, uh, they're big. How're we going to cross?"

"Aha, there's my little trick! We're not. It extends the trip a bit… but it's waaaay less dangerous. Especially for me. Dragon types like myself do _not _mix with the cold."

"Uhm, right. So… where're we going?"

"We're essentially going to loop around the bottom of the mountains on an old merchant's path. The Glyndwr Rocks, they call it."

"How much does it extend the trip by?"

"Two extra days. Absolutely worth it, mind."

"Well, the sooner we get there, the better."

"Yeah, absolutely."

They continued to walk, the sounds of the forest getting quieter as they walked away. Then, they heard a rustle.

A Zangoose stepped out from behind a thick tree, blocking their path.

Dell raised an eyelid slightly. "Uhh, afternoon. Mind if we get past?"

"You know what," the Zangoose spoke in a scratchy voice. "I do mind."

"Excuse me?" Dell frowned.

"I said, 'I do mind'."

"And what's that supposed to mean? Look, dude, just let us go past."

"It means I was in Inteleon's. I 'eard everything."

This caught Ioan's interest. Maybe he knew him! "Oh yeah? Do you recognise me?"


	2. Chapter 2

The Zangoose scoffed. "I guessed you 'ad some kind of 'ead injury, looks like it wiped out more of your brain than just your memory! No, I don't recognise you!"

"Then why follow us all the way out here?"

"Wow, you really 'aven't sussed that one yet? Give me your bags. The both of you."

"Wh- you're robbing us?"

"Of course I am! One guy who don't even know where 'e is and one guy I could prob'ly take!"

Dell spoke up. "No. Get out of the way."

Zangoose scowled. "Well, I didn't want it to 'ave to come to the extra effort…" his right claw started to glow unnaturally. "But I will admit 'at I expected it to."

Zangoose then swung the glowing claw at Dell, catching him in the side. "AUGH, FUCK!" Dell screamed as he was flung to the side by the force of the strike, slamming into the tree that Zangoose had stepped out from behind. He writhed in pain on the ground, while Zangoose shouted at him. "Just 'and over the bag! None of this 'as to 'appen!"

Ioan had an idea. He took a step closer to Zangoose, who was facing away from him. "Oi!"

Zangoose turned around, and was immediately met with a solid punch. He clasped his nose with both hands and let out a muffled shout of "BUGGER!" as he staggered backwards, tripping over Dell who was still laying there. He pulled himself up with a low hanging branch, stopping to look at his palm. There was a trace of blood, and Ioan could see a small nosebleed had started. Ioan decided to heckle Zangoose, thinking it may discourage him and make him run away.

"Now piss off! We aren't giving you anything!"

Zangoose seemed enraged by that, and entered a stance as though he was about to charge at Ioan, seeming in his rage to forget that Dell was still laying on the floor in front of him. In a moment of quick thinking, just as Zangoose started to run forward he slashed a claw, glowing a faint green, upwards into him, slamming into his chest and throwing him to the floor. Ioan ran over and pulled Dell up.

"You alright?"

Dell rubbed his side. "I'll be fine, I'll be fine." Dell looked at Zangoose, who was laying on his

back, mouth open, eyes closed, a small amount of blood staining the white fur on his face. "Is he OK?"

Ioan looked at Zangoose. He could see him breathing at a fairly normal rate. "I think he'll be alright. Let's just leave him."

"I feel like we should at least do _something…_ we might have injured him. Let's… let's just sit him up against that tree. At least."

"Phhhh… okay, fine. I'll take his left arm, you take his right."

They grabbed Zangoose under the arms and dragged him up against the tree, making sure he wouldn't fall.

"Right." said Ioan. "Let's get out of here."

They began walking off,at a slightly heightened pace to put distance between themselves and the unconscious Zangoose, Dell occasionally grasping at his side and wincing.

"Dell, are you sure you're OK?"

"Yeah, it's not bleeding, I don't think anything's broken, I should be fine… it's going to leave a nasty bruise though, I think."

"Alright, well, as long as you think it's fine..."

"Yep. Anyways, you saved my scales back there, I owe you my thanks."

"It's nothing, really. You saved me when_ I_ was out in the woods. Let's say we're even here."

"Aheh, fair enough. Anyway, when we stop to camp tonight, we should probably get off the trail, out of the way a little. Wouldn't want that, ah, fellow catching us out."

"Heh, no, absolutely not."

They walked at a bit of speed for a few minutes, without much conversation as Dell was feeling out of breath. Eventually, they slowed down, and Dell stopped for a moment to drink some water and catch his breath. The sky had turned the deep red of early evening by now, and they had exited the forest. They were now on a rocky path along the side of the mountain, with small caves dotting the edge of the path, and a small river which was flowing back towards Carcano on the other side. There were Magikarp visible, swimming along, seemingly unaware of themselves.

"So, maybe we ought to think about stopping for the night?" Ioan said as they started to walk again.

"Hmm, yeah, probably. Not just yet though. We'll walk 'til it gets a bit darker, by then we should've found someplace to sleep."

"Yeah, probably. I was kind of thinking that we're a bit in the open out here."

"Aw, yeah, we should be fine, nothin' to worry about."

They continued to walk, and the sun continued to sink in the distance. Eventually, as Dell had said, the path seemed to widen. The stream to the side of them seemed to turn off in a different direction, eventually disappearing from view. Eventually, they found a small cave, mostly obscured from the path by a blanket of ivy and some rocks. Inside, they found enough room for them to sleep comfortably, and one or two Zubat roosting on the rocky ceiling, which they decided not to shoo out, Dell saying that he'd been told it was bad luck to move a sleeping Zubat.

The night was not cold, and they slept through it fairly uneventfully. No sign of Zangoose.


End file.
